


it's oh so quiet (until you fall in love)

by alejaja



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: (im shit at updating plz dont hold it against me i am trying my hardest), (my writing in these tags?? horrible. I promise I dont write like this in the fic ajjajajajaa), AU, F/F, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inspired By Tumblr, Trini's Last Name is Not Kwan, but i think you can expect that from most fics at this point, deaf!trini, does this count as a coffee shop au? i think, i think, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-23 16:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11993502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alejaja/pseuds/alejaja
Summary: The loudest girl in Angel Grove is just another voice she can't hear. Even when she's staring Trini down in a coffee shop, introducing herself and making small talk. She can only stare at the girl's lips and hope she finally gets the hang of lip reading. Or that Kim would use them for something she at least had the privilege of enjoying.





	1. so many things I'd like to say

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Trinisexual](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trinisexual/gifts).



> got inspired by tumblr, and this happened. hope I did it right . . .

  
      Kimberly Hart lived loud. From the blaring pop music on her alarm clock to the extremely unnecessary roar of her car engine, it was a surprise she didn't get noise complaints before she left the driveway. She was that kid. The one who blasted the radio as loud as it could go and rolled every window down. Everyone in Angel Grove knew when she was near.

  
      Unless your name was Trinidad Gomez. Not that anyone would know. Not a single one of her classmates had ever tried to speak to her, so not a single student would have known of the girl's inability to detect the sounds they'd grown so accustomed to.

  
      Saturdays, for Kim, consisted of lots of groaning and moping. She was stuck in detention every single weekend, which only served as an unpleasant and obnoxious reminder of what an awful person she was. That's how she viewed it, at least. No, she didn't regret punching Ty Flemming in the face. She did regret that what he said was true. That she was the meanest person he had ever met. 

  
But at least she had her Saturday breakfast. Every Saturday she stopped for a donut and coffee before detention. And every morning the same rush of hungry workers was there. Except for this morning, when her gaze fell on a small girl, who was sitting at an even smaller table in the corner of the shop, scarfing down a glazed donut.

  
    _Was she there before and I just didn't notice . . . ?_

  
      Kim pulled her credit card from her small, rose-colored purse, and payed the cost of her unhealthy little breakfast. She settled down at the table closest to the pretty new face in the corner. She quickly slipped her cell phone from her purse and unlocked it, her painted fingers typing frantically on the digital keyboard.

 

_**Zack, cute girl alert, what do I do?**_

 

      The tall girl sighed, biting her lip as a responsive bubble appeared on her screen.

 

_**Who?**_

 

      _Now's not the time for questions I can't answer, asshole._

     **_Idk, she's like . . . Hispanic I think? She's at the table next to me, help._**

**_Dude, there are so many hispanic girls in the world._**

 

      She rolled her eyes, glaring down at her large smartphone.  _Well, I dunno, Zack, if I had the courage to ask her name I wouldn't be texting you right now._

 

**_Ugh, I don't know, she's short-ish looking? I think she has a nose ring? Do you know someone like that . . . ?_**

 

      Kimberly groaned to herself at the vague and unclear description. There was no way Zack would know.

 

         _**That's that Deedee chick, right? Don't quote me on the name, I have phys-ed with her, I've talked to her before. Don't try it tho, you'll make a fool of yourself.**_

 

      Zack knew her but she didn't? And hey, why should he be able to talk to her but she couldn't? The tall girl shook her head, pairing the motion with an eye roll. _Seriously, Zack? Have some faith in me._

 

      _**I'm gonna talk to her.**_

 

      She placed her phone on the table and turned toward the mysterious girl, who sensed the movement a little too quickly and stared at Kim like a deer in the headlights.

  
      "These donuts are the best, right?" She smiled cheerily at the smaller woman, who just smiled awkwardly at her and went back to her pastry. No, she wasn't gonna give up that easy. "I'm Kim. Well, Kimberly, but you can call me Kim." The only response this earned was a pair of knitted eyebrows as the other teen seemed to search Kim's expression. As if what she'd just said wasn't the most straightforward thing in the world.

  
   _Was it something I said?_

  
      "I've never seen you around here before. I see the same people every day. But not you." The silent girl's hand swept down her own torso, then quickly across her cheek, eyes still searching. "I just... wanted to let you know that I like your hair" Kim stammered awkwardly, turning away and gluing her eyes to her phone. There was a text from Zack.

 

        _**You never listen.**_

 

      Ignoring the accusation, she poked back at the keys.

 

_**Neither does she, apparently, she keeps looking at me like I have seven heads and ignoring evrythng i say. am i rly that obnoxious?????**_

 

      Her eyes focused on the tiny ' **. . .** ' that blinked around on the bottom left corner of her screen. She hated it with every ounce of fire she had in herself, and she wished she could rip it from her phone and toss it across the room. The anxiety and the _what could he be typing that is taking so long_ invited itself, unannounced, into her brain.

 

          **_Did I not tell u to not embarrass yourself like that? Your not obnoxious, she's deaf. I was trying to tell you that, but someone wouldnt listen._**

 

      Oh. _Oh._ Well _that's_ awkward. She stole a glance to the girl aside her before tapping out a short, satisfying message.

 

          **_You're* :)_**

 

      As soon as she hit send, a small, folded napkin slipped into the corner of her eye. Looking up, Kimberly noted a sheepish smile on her company's face. Unfolding it carefully, she squinted to make out the sloppy, shaky handwriting etched across the thin paper in permanent marker

  
         **_Trini. 308-555-0189._**

  
      The napkin lay limp in her hands as Kim picked it up, noting her increased heart rate. Her name was Trini, and she gave the girl her number. Everything felt like such a relief, the weight on her chest vanishing as she realized that not only was she not actually ignoring her, but she was into her. Or was it different for her to get a phone number from someone who couldn't have a verbal conversation with her? Was that just something Trini gave anyone who tried to speak to her? Maybe she wasn't into her, but even still she wasn't against communicating with her, so that was something, at least. She was going to hold onto that, something to stop her hands from shaking as she added the number to her contacts. Something to distract her from how embarrassed she was.

 

**_Hey, it's Kimberly. Kimberly Hart. Sitting next to you._**

 

      She heard the girl's phone vibrate against the table.

 

           ** _yea, ik u from class. sry if this is weird. best idea i had._**

 

      Kim felt the small stranger glance at her as the message popped up on her screen. The short text was already stinging her with a pathetic guilt. She couldn't remember for the life of her what class Trini could possibly know her from, especially considering none of her teachers have ever signed a lesson to her. Taking a breath, she pressed the pads of her fingers to her phone and poked back a response as quick as possible.

 

    ** _Not weird, different. I'm sorry, I didn't realize._**

 

      Her phone bleeped a near immediate response.

 

            _ **its fine, im used to ppl not knowing. ppl dont notice if they dont talk to u.**_

 

_**My friend said he talked to you. Zack Taylor, said he had phys-e with you.** _

 

She regretted the message as soon as she sent it, her eyes searching over it repeatedly, trying to convince herself that it didn't sound strange or creepy that she spoke to a friend about her.

 

         ** _oh, he knows some asl. not a lot. just enough to introduce sloppily introduce himself & say a hello._**

 

**_I didn't know that, actually . . . he's just full of surprises, isn't he?_ **

 

**_apparently, yea._ **

 

      Kimberly let out a long, shaky breath. She was glad the other girl couldn't hear the nerves in her exhale, at least. She flicked her fingers over the touchscreen keyboard.

 

            **_I was trying to tell you that I like your hair._**

 

      _Come on,_ she thought, _that makes you seem like a total loser._

 

            ** _i like urs. it's cute short._**

 

      Kim's hands reached up to touch the short, chopped ends of her bob. The sneers and snickers of her former friends echoed in her mind, a chorus of belittling variations of ' _nice hair'_. She cut it to feel powerful, to have control over herself. Instead it gave her a pang of insecurity with every mention of it.

      But to Trini it was _cute,_ and she felt the girl's eyes burning in the side of her face. She became all too aware of her face slowly turning rosy. And even more aware that detention was supposed to start in less than fifteen minutes.

 

            **_Ugh, I have to go, stupid weekend detention._**

****

**_You dont seem the type._ **

****

**_I didn't think I was. But I'll text you later, Trini, it was nice to meet you._ **

****

**_Ditto, Hart._ **

 

      With a shared smile and a wave goodbye, she was off for another miserable Saturday morning at Angel Grove High School.


	2. if it wasn't for my pride

      The small device in Trini's back pocket shook. The vibrations tingled against her until she willed herself to open her eyes and slip her phone into her hands. Wiping sleep away, she swiped her lockscreen out of sight to reveal a new text message from Kimberly.

           _**Detention = done :)**_

      With a soft smile, memory of that morning rushed back to her. The overcast sky, her favourite donut, and the springy older girl who managed to push her way into the Latina's thoughts. God, she hated how the girl felt like pure sugar rushing through her veins. But she decided there were worse things to be shooting up than the attention of the peppy senior she'd taken to admiring in her art class.

           ** _Ever gonna tell me what ur in for?_**

**_No way in hell._ **

**_That's disappointing. I guess I'll need to come up w/ my own theories._ **

      Trini glanced at the digital clock at the top of her screen. 1:00pm. She'd slept a few hours of the day away by now.  
  
           **_Picking up lunch right now, if you're free I can grab you something. Only if you want. I've got nothing else to do, and company would be nice._**

      Did Kimberly Hart just make up an excuse to hang out with her? A widespread grin plastered itself on her face and she rolled over, groggily sitting up on the edge of her bed. She could feel the weight of her undereye bags drooping at the edge of her cheeks. The small girl felt giddy and stupid about the entire situation, a sensation so foreign to her grey and grumpy existence. Kimberly Hart, the most popular girl in her school, wanted the company of a tiny little junior who was so far out of sight that she couldn't even be marked unpopular. She was so prepared for this to be some sort of sick joke.

      Yawning, she leaped from the warmth of her blankets and dazed to the stairs, her fingers gripping the old wooden railing with excessive pressure. She'd been scared of falling down stairs as long as she could remember, always holding on as if it were her only lifeline.

      Stepping into the kitchen, the teen tapped a button on her phone that let out a soft beeping noise to get her mother's attention without needing to use her voice. The taller woman turned her head, followed by a signing of _"everything okay?"_ Trini's nod was met with a quick _"why do you not use your voice to me? At least sign back, talk to me."_

      _"I'm fine, mom."_ Her hands moved quickly, annoyance rushing over her in a thick wave. Her mother was fully aware how anxious and uncomfortable she was with speaking out loud, with no way to determine how she sounded. _"I'm going to get lunch with a friend. Don't make it a big deal."_

      Before she could sign back a response, Trini had already averted her eyes and slid out the front door, and began texting Kim her house address.

 

* * *

 

 

      Trini wished she had accounted for how awkward it was to be sitting silently in a car with a near-stranger. She could see the other girl's lips moving to sing along to another radio tune she would never get to enjoy. But at least Kimberly's eyes were too focused on the road to notice her lingering gaze. The tall ex-cheerleader looked delicate in her features, aside from the clear contrast of her tired, corrugated under-eyes. They seemed to come in package with the dark, newly chopped hair that brushed against her soft skin. Everything seemed to balance out, for all that of her which had shown celestial was matched with its own jagged edge. The girl was a penumbra of unpredictability, a grey area that pricked her curiosity. As the street signs blurred outside the passenger side window, she wanted desperately to ask where exactly they were going, though she knew better than to engage in a text conversation with she who was operating the vehicle that was propelling her down an old road at sixty miles per hour.

      Once the vehicle pulled up to an old mining site and stopped, there was a quick moment before Trini's device shook in her pocket.

           **_There are some nice trails back here. Good place to get lost away from it all._**

      She wasted no time texting back, instead opting for a short nod, and opening the car door. The hike was relatively short, only a few minutes passed before they stopped at a small pond. The two girls sat themselves on rocks near the edge of the water.

           **_What exactly are you trying to get away from, Kim . . . ?_**

      Trini set her phone down and sent a small stone skipping across the pond.

           ** _There's no one specific thing. Mostly everything._**

           **_That's . . . depressing._**

      Her feet tapped subconsciously on the ground, pebbles shifting beneath her worn sneakers. Everything felt fake, like she'd be woken from a deep slumber in just moments.

           . ** _. . Isn't everything these days?_**

     To some extent it was a fair point. Things weren't exactly great for her at the moment. She was lonelier than ever before, pushing everyone away, including her own family. Every second seemed to add another weight on her chest, making it harder and harder to breathe. Even the smallest glimmer of hope was viewed with suspicious eyes, just waiting for the world's betrayal. But standing between herself and a beckoning puddle of tears was Kimberly. Kimberly whose eyes held a chestnut-tinted war. Kimberly whose shorts failed to shield her battle scars, stories of past and present pain. Kimberly who texted her with shaky hands, but who never let go. Who wore a halo of light on her crown as the sun shone through the trees.

           ** _Today hasn't been._**

****

* * *

 

 

      The light faded on the scenery as the two texted for hours, telling of each other's lives yet never revealing a single thing. Trini would watch Kim's face with steady fixation as the other girl tapped her side of the conversation into her device. Nothing felt real, nothing felt like how she regularly was. Trinidad Gomez wouldn't leave her house. She wouldn't give a girl her number. And she certainly wouldn't be feeling such frivolous things. She felt as if she'd just stepped on the set of a movie, leaving herself behind to assume the role of someone so much more than she was. Like she was being painted onto the wrong canvas by mistake, yet somehow it resulted in a masterpiece.

           **_You're pretty cool, Trini. I'm glad I talked to you._**

      The screen of her phone cast a small gleam of light into the darkening atmosphere, illuminating the smile that she failed to hold back.

           **_Ditto. I didn't think I'd make a friend this year. If we r being honest . . . I was not expecting u to be so nice._**

      Trini didn't know how loud her anxious breaths were, but she tried her hardest to keep them down.

           **_I guess you've heard the gossip then . . ._**

      She noted the way Kim blinked quickly, the muscles in her throat tightening.

           ** _Dude, I don't hear anything . . . why ?_**

**_Nvm._ **

**_Does it have to do with why you're in detention . . . ?_ **

      There was a long pause before she saw the girl's fingers move again, nose twitching and her teeth catching her lower lip.

           ** _I said never mind._**

      Guilt. It rushed over her so quickly she didn't even know it happened until she'd read the message six times over. Like how the sun goes behind a cloud and all of a sudden your room goes suddenly dark. Or how the autumn leaves, once so beautiful, fade and crumble down to the ground, almost overnight. She didn't mean to strike a nerve, but it was something that always came so naturally to her. Her nimble fingers desperately wrote, erased, re-wrote, and erased again. _"Okay"_ wasn't enough, _"I didn't mean to upset you"_ was too desperate, and _"I'm sorry"_ was too personal.

      She settled on a short, quick, _"sorry,"_ poking the words carefully into her phone's screen. She wished she hadn't spent so long hovering over the send button, because as soon as she was about to send the message, she looked up to see a frowning Kimberly Hart staring over at her. Trini raised an arched brow. She could see the gears in the taller girl's brain turning as she clearly tried to think up a way to communicate what she needed to.

      After pointing to her phone, she put her hands to her neck an stuck her tongue out, acting out her thoughts as best as possible. A nod confirmed that she indeed understood Kim's attempt at explaining that her phone had died. She still hadn't given her apology, and now she couldn't. Just wonderful. She considered an attempt at verbal communication, but immediately ruled it out. Having no idea what her voice sounded like, she wasn't about to reveal it to her new friend so soon.

      Her heart started beating quicker and quicker as a new thought rudely invited itself into her brain. Even quicker as she began to view it as an actual option. She didn't need to hear to know it sounded like it were about to beat right out of her chest once she gave in and acted.

      Trini shifted herself closer to Kim, gently grabbing her arm and tracing the skin with her fingertip. It was a game her brothers used to play with her when they were even younger. They'd trace messages or pictures on her skin and she'd have to guess what it was, like a strange version of pictionary.

      _S - O - R - R - Y_

      It took a few moments, but Kimberly's arm shifted to rest on her shoulder, a reassuring smile adorning her alluring lips, as if to tell her that it was all okay.

      The near-strangers spent the next hour in this fashion, communicating through awkward and nervous charades. Brushing shoulders, bumping elbows, accidentally grasping hands in the blind darkness of the late evening. Contact. Both yearned for a hug goodbye as the taller girl dropped the other at her home, but neither had the courage to initiate it. The junior waved a pair of tired finger-guns in Kim's direction before using a small divot in the side of her house to pull herself up toward her bedroom window. Two panicked thumbs up poked out the car window before it drove off, Trini watching through her window.

      She already missed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it takes forever to update, school is priority right now. I'm totally overworked and overbooked right now.
> 
> Also, this is so fucking short, lo siento
> 
> Be sure to leave feedback and to follow my tumblr, trinidaddygomez.tumblr.com, for quality content and occasional updates on my writing progress.


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